Page 28 - Classic Rock - The Complete Story of Def Leppard 2019
P. 28
JOE ELLIOT
A day earlier, you’d seen Led Zeppelin’s One song on that album, the single Putting the phenomenal swagger in Switch 625. And
‘arena’ in ‘arena
gig at Knebworth. What do you Hello America, led to accusations from by the way, it was my idea for Switch 625
rock’ (and also
remember about those events? British fans that you’d sold out. the arena rock to be an instrumental. I said, ‘The guitar
into the arenas):
We played Newcastle Mayfair on August I got totally trashed for that song. But, parts are so good, it’s going to get ruined
Joe during the
3, and drove straight to Knebworth that Christ, I’d written it while I was working Hysteria tour. if I sing on it.’
night in a transit van. We parked up at six in that factory. I wanted to get out of
in the morning till they opened the gates, there. Hello America was like me sending And then, in 1983, came Pyromania: a
and then we fell asleep on blankets. We out a note: ‘Help!’ game changer for the band and for hard
woke up in time to see Todd Rundgren. rock as a whole.
He was good. But seeing Led Zeppelin – The second album, High ‘N’ Dry, was I think the real Def Leppard was born on
wow! There were two hundred thousand such a huge leap forward from On Pyromania. We made a record that was
people there. It was incredible. And we Through The Night. How much of that better than the first Boston album – that’s
actually saw one kid with a Def Leppard was due to having Mutt Lange as the how we saw it. It doesn’t sound anything
patch on the back of his jacket. After album producer? like the American arena rock stuff of the
Zeppelin finished we drove back up to High ‘N’ Dry was the band and Mutt time, like Journey and REO Speedwagon.
Sheffield that night, and the next day we feeling each other out. Working with Mutt We were trying to avoid the cliched sound
went to Rick’s parents’ house to sign the was like the army: ‘Nope, do it again.’ At of that big arena rock thing. We wanted to
deal. Rick was only fifteen. He was too time we were like, ‘Oh, fuck off!’ But when infiltrate the American market the way
young to sign a contract, so his parents we heard how the album was sounding, it The Who and Zeppelin did, in a very
signed it on his behalf. started to sink in. It’s dead easy to make English way, but with an updated sound.
your first record. You’ve been playing it
The band’s first album, On Through The live for eighteen months. But on your Pete Willis was fired during the making
Night, was released in 1980. That was a second record you’re starting from of Pyromania. There is a famous story
very heavy metal album. scratch. Thankfully we had Mutt to guide about him being so drunk one day in the
If Led Zeppelin II is a heavy metal album, us. Sonically, High ‘N’ Dry was a lot more studio that he tried to play his guitar the
On Through The Night is a heavy metal hard-hitting than On Through The Night. wrong way round – with the strings on
album. But we did three-part harmonies. But at the same time it’s so much broader. the inside.
What other heavy metal band ever did It’s got great melodies in songs like Bringin’ Mutt was laughing so hard at that. But
that? None! On The Heartbreak, but it’s also got that then he sent Pete home. Pete said, ‘Oh I’ll
26 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
